


the hollowed heart of the hallowed

by grimmchild



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Recovery, god of gods is just ghost's true form, hollow is not fine but they will be eventually, hornet elects herself mom, they're fine
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-14
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2020-01-13 12:56:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18469414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grimmchild/pseuds/grimmchild
Summary: this is not a story about hallownest saved from the brink of being consumed by infection. this is not a story about the ruins being rebuilt, or travelers slowly filtering back in, or life slowly resuming its natural rhythms. the pure vessel sacrificed everything for hallownest, the princess tirelessly protected the secrets of hallownest, the knight traveled all of hallownest to put it right. for once it is not about the kingdom, but those who gave all for it and are now left on their own to pick up their broken pieces.when the only purpose you've been given in your entire life is fulfilled, what else is left for you?





	the hollowed heart of the hallowed

**Author's Note:**

> haha it has been a very long time since i've properly tried writing a fanwork that wasn't a quick, private oneshot  
> i have no idea how many chapters i will put into this or really any of what i'll do aside from a vague idea of the recovery arc  
> this should be fun!

_I._

_Me._

_My…_

_What do they mean?_

_… The Enemy. She had answers. She had a Self. She had an I. She overtook the hollow one because it had nothing. Nothing except… a dream._

_All of Hallownest for a dream. The one shining image, pure, untouched. The perfect vessel. An imprint of a lie, which became the wings of a deathly poison. The mirror was always a false reflection… shattering with every blow to Hollow’s body, it…_

_…_

_The pain. The pain is the one constant of Hollow. When its Creator looked upon it and judged its worth. When it slaved away for years of its life to prove His judgement correct. When He brought it to look upon the place of its birth, a reminder of the place to which it may return if it fell short. When it glanced behind, for a moment, seeing a tiny Sibling grip the edge, forcing itself to turn its back. When it put on the armor that would become its cage and stood atop the city, watching hopeful faces bow before the impure vessel. When it took on the Enemy, screaming, blinding, feeling the chains bind it to its duty. When it dreamed up a grand battle with the Enemy and fought with all its strength til the dream became the nail by which it fell. When, somehow, that same Sibling from so long ago struck and struck and struck until the screaming fell silent and the dream was no more…_

_Silence… is all that remains. There’s no more pain. For the first time, Hollow truly feels the emptiness it was meant to contain all along. The ground beneath it must exist, but its body feels as though it hangs limply on nothing._

_And yet. This one voice remains in its mind. The memories, and the musings… they must belong to Hollow, mustn’t they? The Enemy is gone; they cannot belong to her. Yet the manner of reference parallels the way her own thoughts might meander. So then._

_Is this the sort of thing which might comprise a Self? Is Hollow — am I, an I? Am I a Person, do I Exist? Now that I am free from both my tormentor and my duty to Hallownest?_

A surge of overwhelming force shot up through Hollow’s body, setting all their senses ablaze to the point where they squeezed their eyes shut and tried to block it all out.

_No, no, this is all wrong…_

_Do not think…_

_Do not speak…_

_Do not hope…_

_Do not…_

_…_

* * *

Hollow awakened to the sound of a voice drifting into their perception. Momentarily, Hollow wondered if it was simply some shard of the Radiance yet residing in their mind, but the sound of another voice — the burbling of the void native to their own thoughts — put that idea to rest. They could not quite distinguish the words on either side, and they couldn’t see the sources, or anything really. Only a small shaft of soft moonlight filtered into the dark space they found themself in. Thus, Hollow resolved to get up and see what the commotion was about.

Minding the dull aches that flared into sharp ones at slight movements, they took care in slowly stretching their legs out across the floor. With their arm, they pushed aside the various blankets and cushions surrounding them; then, pushing their palm and feet against the floor, they began scooting themself toward the door in small increments. It needed to be slow work, or else Hollow would suffer too much unneeded pain. Thankfully, at least their patience soon rewarded itself: within a few minutes they could now overhear the conversation.

“Ghost, listen. You know me. You’ve witnessed everything I have done for them. I wanted to believe in their recovery just as much as you do, but… it has been _months._ The possibility that they won’t wake grows more real with each day that passes.” _They, who? Are they… talking about me? Have I indeed slept for months?_ Hollow wondered with a tinge of urgency. Abandoning their previous caution, they sped up their path towards the door.

_((Are you fucking serious? They were in the Black Egg for longer! Are you giving up on OUR SIBLING because they’ve needed rest after fighting a literal god in their head? Piss off!))_

Sighing, Hornet said, “Ghost, how many times do I have to tell you that I don’t speak Void? Could you please…” She trailed off when a bizarre sight entered her vision, prompting Ghost’s flickering form to settle as their gaze followed hers. They both watched in disbelief as the Hollow Knight slid out through the tent opening, scooting past the pair to reach a nearby lamppost. Their arm extended as far up the pole as it could reach from the ground, and, using it to brace themself, they pushed themself up to a standing position. Through this entire process, their eyes remained fixed in a vacant stare — they only shifted their attention to their siblings when Ghost’s hands moved to sign something to Hornet.

“Really? That’s all you have to say right now?” she responded, prodding an elbow into their side. “Be serious.” Turning her attention back toward Hollow, she took a single step forward and said, “Um, hello, I suppose? My name is Hornet, and that—” she thumbed back at the Vessel folding their arms in irritation— “is Ghost. I mean, I knew you before, but I don’t know if you… remember me?”

The half-statement, half-question lingered awkwardly in the crisp night air for some time, Hornet peering up hesitantly at Hollow, Hollow somewhat vacantly returning the look with neither much intensity nor much uncertainty. Ghost, looking back and forth between them, knowing that Hollow would understand their voiceless rumblings, felt compelled to step in and… and, what? What exactly could _they_ say to bridge the gap — they, a swiftly-failed Vessel who could hardly have garnered the notice of the King’s chosen? They ended up simply wobbling ineffectually at the spot where they stood.

After the silence had extended well past the point of discomfort, Hornet mumbled, “Well, I mean, I suppose it’s been a while since you were the Pure Vessel, so it’s only to be expected that—” She cut off with a startled yell when Hollow reared up off the pole to stand up at their full height. When she glanced back toward their face, a look of recognition had passed through their eyes; in a well-practiced manner, they crossed their arm over their chest and bowed regally to the daughter of Hallownest.

… And then promptly tumbled forward, smashing their head into the rocky ground.

“Hollow!” Instantly, Hornet rushed to the fallen idiot’s side, taking hold of their skull and examining it carefully. “Fucking hell, did this crack get bigger? Ghost, come here.” With a concerned expression, they padded over to the other two and were rewarded for their effort by being yanked into the air by one of their horns. “I need you. To make sure. Their head doesn’t fall apart. Okay?” No sooner had they nodded sagely than Hornet placed them square on top of Hollow’s head and moved their hands into position. She nodded to herself and, with that, started using her needle to weave silk around the fracture.

Hollow, for their part, squeezed their eyes shut against the growing pain pulsating through their head, the same ache they’d suffered when the Radiance wrought violence against their body. Yet… it was different, too. A thread snapped taut around their head and they recoiled; Hornet slacked the silk for a moment and murmured an apology. _That is it — the lack of aloneliness. This princess and this Vessel from long past, they are… here for me. To help. But…_

_((Why?))_

They couldn’t see Ghost’s face nor imagine what kind of expression the smaller Vessel might even react with, but in the swiftness of the response Hollow sensed something instinctive, primal even: _((Sibling.))_ That word, they knew the basic meaning of. Co-descendant. Fellow offspring of the Pale King. But the depths with which their voice vibrated pointed to a deeper meaning — something that yet lay beyond Hollow’s understanding. The back of their head murmured confusion.

Ghost patted Hollow’s head and stilled the murmurings inside themself, shaping their next impartings more deliberately. _((You have never been treated like a person before. You were wronged by the Father. Like me, like Hornet. We understand each other through this pain; we help each other because we are the only ones who can. You are one of us.))_

They pondered over this response for a moment before flinching again — Hornet had completed her work and tied off the knot on this odd cranial suture of sorts. “There. That should let you heal, provided you’re _careful_ from now on.” She punctuated her statement with a sharp look that made Hollow turn their head in unexpected embarrassment. However, when they looked back, they found she had turned her body away, with only the corners of her distant expression visible. Voice wobbling a bit, she asked, “... So. What were you two talking about?”

Quickly, Ghost hopped down to the ground. Their hands drew Hornet’s attention and they began to sign, but their hands faltered in the middle of a sequence before dropping down to their sides. Instead, they held their hand out to her; despite confusion, she instinctively took it in her own. Turning toward Hollow, they made the same wordless offer, and the bigger Vessel felt strongly compelled to mimic Hornet’s response. With a hand in each of theirs, Ghost then brought them together so that their siblings’ hands were resting on top of each other. Hornet’s tense face relaxed, worry relieved by this simple gesture.

This was unfamiliar to Hollow, yet for once they instantly grasped the meaning of this strange new thing. _“You are one of us.”_ They closed their eyes, feeling warmth amidst the stillness.


End file.
